Bahama Storm
by helpwolvesandsmile
Summary: The gang go on a cruise to the Bahamas. A storm arises, chaos happens, and Tori and Jade are left on an uncharted island. They're confused, hungry, injured, and have all odds against them. All quarrels between the pair must be put aside if they are to be rescued.
1. 1 Paradise Seas?

_A/N:_

_Heeellloooo boys, girls, and cabbages! I'm back. I've pretty much abandoned the site, it seems. I just read an amazing story by an amazing writer on the site that inspired me to write this multi-chap. I KNOW THERE ARE LOTS OF STORIES LIKE THIS… I will make my story different. Okay? So let's just clear that up. Anyway, we'll see how this story goes. Reviews always make my day. And any constructive criticism of any sort is welcomed. This will NOT be a Jori romance story, just friendship. _

_Sorry about my crabbiness, on to the story, eh?_

"Heeeyyy," a voice greeted. Vega, of course she's in a sunny mood.

"Hey Tor," Andre greeted as she sat next to him at our table.

Tori sighed happily, looking around. She giggled to herself then began picking at her salad. The slight wind blew her hair. I rolled my eyes. Someone gag me.

"Whatcha all happy 'bout?" Andre asked, resting his chin on his fists in almost a double giggle-chin.

Tori giggled again. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that I won ten tickets, from some radio contest, to a cruise… to the Bahamas!"

Everyone at the table smiled, murmuring excitedly. I allowed myself a grin. Bahamas? Nice. Semester Break was starting in two days. Perfect. White sandy beaches, crystal clear blue waters, warm ocean. Wait, I hate the ocean. Whatever. Beaches sound good. Of Tori would let me come.

"Are we invited to the cruise?" Cat asked, twirling a lock of red hair around a finger.

Tori nodded. "Yep. Me, my parents are making me bring Trina so count her in, Andre, Cat, Robbie, and Beck."

"What about me?" I snapped. "I want to go to the Bahamas too, you know!"

"Oh I know," Tori said. "You can come _if_…"

"Ugh!"

Tori rolled her eyes and finished. "_If_ you ask politely."

I raised an eyebrow. Seriously, Vega? Seems easy but Jade West doesn't ask politely. Especially to Vega.

Beck shrugged, taking a bite of a french fry. "Seems reasonable."

He stared at me, playful challenge in his brown eyes. I looked down at my coffee, tracing my finger along the lid. That boy still give me a butterfly stomach. And I still blamed myself for the break-up. It was all my fault. I'm too pushy, too jealous, too mean, and he's too good. Right? I sighed.

"Come on, Jade," Tori teased. "Just say 'Tori, can I please come with you to the Bahamas?'"

"But you just _invited_ everyone else to come! Now I have to-" I started.

Tori shook her head. "Just three words. 'Can I come?'"

I looked around. Stifled snickers and smirks were painted on their faces. My friends were enjoying this. I was making a fool of myself, letting my cruel pride overpower me. Vega, you'll pay for this.

"Can. I. Come?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Okay, sure."

I let out an annoyed breath. Déjà vu; the scene reminded me of when I'd asked Tori if I could come to Yerba with her. Stupid. We all know what a mistake that whole deal was. Oh well, the Bahamas never lets down.

"So when do we leave?" Robbie asked, somewhat switching topics.

Tori sipped some of her pop. "Saturday," she answered, making a face at the fizzy drink. "Pack up warmer-weather clothes, swimsuits, towels, stuff like that. Make sure it'll last you six days."

"Wait," Cat started, "what about the other three tickets?"

Tori waved a hand as if to dismiss the topic. "I don't know. Maybe Sikowitz then… I might save the other two tickets. My parents might want them for an anniversary or something."

"Bahamas!" Andre cheered, raising his drink.

"Bahamas!" the rest of us cheered, touching drinks.

"Here we are!" Tori announced, leading us onto the ship.

* * *

I stepped out of the boarding tunnel, observing the large space around me. A high ceiling with a glass chandelier. Carpeted floors with fancy patterns on them. A grand staircase leading up to an indoor balcony, with an elevator in the middle of the staircases.

A dark wooden desk sat before the elevator chute. A tall man sat at it, wearing a dark blue 'Paradise Seas' uniform. He whistled and tipped his hat to us as we approached him. He had a smile and lively sea blue eyes and reached out to shake Vega's hand.

"Welcome aboard!" he invited. "Checking in for…"

"Vega," Tori replied.

The man nodded and ran a finger down a page of names. He clicked his tongue until he landed on a name scrawled in black pen.

"Aha." The man poked the name with his finger. "Vega. Tori and Trina. Along with Andre Harris, Cat Valentine, Jade West, Beck Oliver, and Sikowitz, is it? Mr. Sikowitz?"

"Yes, it is," Sikowitz confirmed. "I hear the Bahamas is plentiful in coconuts."

The man raised an eyebrow. "So it is." He cleared his throat, passing out two room keys. "I believe it's two grand suits. Both across the hall, floor four. Room 278 and 279."

Beck accepted the keys. "Thanks." He handed one to Tori.

"Enjoy the ship!" the man called.

We walked with our luggage to the elevator and entered. It was a roomy circular room with glass walls. Sikowitz immediately ran his hands down the buttons of the elevator, standing back and smiling to himself.

"Dude!" I said, gesturing to the plate of lit buttons.

"What?" he asked. "Come on! It's like a beautiful tree. Isn't it? All lit up for the holidays…" He marveled at the sight of the buttons.

Andre shook his head. "But now we have to stop at every floor. Until we get to our stop."

Sikowitz shrugged and stood in awe, staring at his button-tree. I felt the elevator move up. Ding. Doors open. Doors close. Move up again. Ding. Same thing until the doors finally opened for us at floor number four. I let out an exasperated sigh and pushed my way out of the elevator, followed by my friends. We walked down the hall, took a left, and walked more. Until we came to a stop at rooms 278 and 279.

"Guys will take this one," Beck announced, opening room 278.

Tori opened 279. "Then gals get this room."

Cat giggled, petting her purple giraffe. "Gals."

I rolled my eyes.

Inside the room were two large beds. Large beds. Like, each one containing three people. With elbow room. The bed sheets were a plush cream color, matching the curtains. The floor was cyan blue, and the walls were more of a grayish blue with yellow fish along the bottom. It was like a comforting ocean, right in the room. To the left of the entrance to the room was a small kitchen and small bathroom. On the right was a large porthole window with curtains.

"Oh look!" Cat squealed. She dropped her things on a bed and ran to the porthole. "Look! I can see the little dock workers. Hello dock workers!" She waved out the window. "Haha, you all look so tiny."

I smirked and sauntered to the window. Cat was right. Blackish blue water swirled below us. And a few yards from the ship was a large cement dock with men hauling things. I squinted. The workers seemed to be getting smaller. I heard a horn from the ship and the dock men looked up and waved. Cat laughed and waved back, blowing kisses.

"They're waving for me!" she exclaimed.

I didn't feel like explaining that they were simply waving to the departing ship, so I nodded and ruffled her red hair.

* * *

After about five hours of swimming pools, smoothies, restaurants, and a small dance club, we all gathered outside. I stood on the main deck, elbows on the railing, looking at the sun setting over the ocean. The water was painted red from the dying light. Clouds came in from the west, looking to be orange-black. A warm breeze floated past. The waves churned, looking choppy below. I shrugged it off.

"Sooo how was it?" Tori asked.

Things like "amazing" and "fun" were passed around, along with approving nods. I'd actually enjoyed it myself. Being the rude, party-pooper, ocean-hating person I am. Not bad, Vega. Not too bad.

Tori nodded. "I told you! Plane ride from California to Florida, ship ride, once we get to the islands it'll get even better."

Suddenly, the ship's horn went off. Along with a loud bell. I narrowed my eyes. A bell? The captain's voice sounded.

"Passengers… storm approaching…" his voice was interrupted by static. "Take shelter in low part of ship… Will be notified… changing weather patterns…"

Worry and fear welled up. I look out at the strange sky and waves again. Storm?

_A/N:_

_REALLY long chapter! I just had to cram it all in there. Whatever, I usually never write long ones, so surprise! Please review! I want to know what you think of it!_


	2. 2 Overboard

_A/N:_

_Hey diddle! Another update so soon? Why, yes. I'm addicted to writing this story! Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad to see you liked the first chapter. Someone pointed out that it was a cliffy, I didn't notice that. Huh. No one got my Elf reference? Hm, okay…_

_BTW Verage is great. Really nice person, great writer, where I got the idea for this story from. Verage's story The Islanders, I read it last night, gave me the inspiration to write this story. Round of applause for Verage. *clapping!* _

Stupid ship. Stupid storm. Stupid Vega. I hate this!

Tori, Cat, and I had been huddling together on the lowest accessible floor (right under the lobby, but above all the mechanical rooms of the ship) for about an hour now. Sure, we were pretty much under the water level, but the floating prison still rocked like my grandmother's chair. We were all starting to get fed up with it.

"_Why _are we down here?" I asked.

"Because the ship people told us to take shelter down here," Cat replied innocently, clutching Mr. Purples, the giraffe, to her chest.

I could tell she was scared. Poor thing. But I still wanted to get out of this place. I sighed and stood up, stumbling a little because my foot had fallen asleep half an hour ago. I looked up and down the hall. People were lined up against the narrow walls; the guys were across the hall, talking amongst themselves.

"Jade," Tori started.

"I'm just stretching my legs." And I sat down again, giving my signature glare to Tori. God, she could be irritating.

So we sat there for another minute or two. I amused myself by staring at Tori, mentally trying to make her as oddly hideous as possible. Until something mad everyone's heads lift. A familiar scent.

"Hey," I started, "do you guys smell…"

A shrill beeping cut me off, along with another ship horn and bell. But the beeping was much louder, coming from a round blinking device on the ceiling.

"Ow!" Tori shouted, her hands flying to her ears.

"The smoke alarms are going off?" Beck yelled from across the hall. He had his hands in his ears, and stared up at the detector on the ceiling.

A man, a short one with a stubbly beard, came urgently down the hallway. He wore a 'Paradise Seas' uniform. People all around were shouting and starting to panic. Including myself. We were trapped in the bottom of a smoking ship with a storm brewing just outside the window. Hey, Hollywood, Titanic 2, eh?

"People, people! Calm down! Please," the employee shouted over the noise. "We've received word from the captain that the front of the ship has been struck by lightning."

"Is there fire?" a woman called out. I looked toward the voice. A brown-haired woman, not too far down the hall, pulling a five year old boy closer to her.

"Yes," the employee answered. Terrified shouts rang out. The man managed to gain back attention. "Don't worry, employees are putting out the fire. We are instructed to neatly evacuate up to the main floor and shelter in the lobby." With a uniform look on his face, he motioned for people to follow, and continued down the hall.

Surprisingly, folks stayed somewhat calm. My heart ran at 300 miles per hour, and I could feel my hands trembling. But I stayed in line. Tori and Cat talked anxiously behind me. I felt and hand grab mine, and turned to see Beck.

"Scared?" he whispered.

Somehow I felt comforted. We weren't a couple anymore, but I held onto his hand. "A little," I admitted. Usually I'd deny it. But when you're on a burning ship with a miniature hurricane outside, I mean, who's going to be like "nah, man! This is great. They got this. We don't got to be afraid of anything!" Seriously. Who wouldn't be afraid right now?

I mean, even Beck seemed scared. Worried at least. His hand gripped mine firmly, and with his other hand he brought it down over his mouth and chin, shaking his head a little. He seems to do that when something unsettles him.

Everyone walked up a flight of stairs, some tripping, and filed into the lobby. The captain stood there with another serious-looking man. They nodded and led us outside. I walked with my friends as we passed along the deck.

Wind shook everything. I could barley see, due to my hair being constantly whipped into my face. Rain poured down, thundering as it hit the boat. Lightning lit the sky, casting an evil glow on the dark ocean waves.

The captain brought us up to an array of orange boats along the side of the ship. He pointed to them. "Lifeboats," he said.

"Are you crazy?" I shouted. "There's a monster storm right above us and you're telling us to hop into lifeboats so we can sail away to safety? What safety?"

"Jade, he didn't-" Beck began, tightening his grasp on my hand.

"Only choice," the captain replied. "The fire's spreading. It's strong. Even this rain can't kill it. Our best bet are these lifeboats." He turned to the shocked crowd. "Seven people at most to a boat. Huddle in the middle, low to the floor. Grab the tarp in the boat to shelter from the rain. The waves will take us to land."

I couldn't believe this guy! What- we get into lifeboats that can only hold seven people, batten down, and hope it's not suicide? "What?" I screeched. "What kind of captain are you?"

As people followed orders, the captain heard my shouting and prowled over to me. I didn't regret my words, though. The man had a mad glint in his eyes, he pointed a finger at me firmly.

"Watch how you address the captain, Missy," he hissed. "It's either you die here on this boat, or follow your friends and pray to your god that he spares you and your quick mouth."

Was he challenging me? Horrible 'captain' he was. I readied myself for a retort, but Beck pulled me away. He led us silently to where the rest of our friends were boarding a boat. Everyone was already huddled inside as Andre climbed in before us. The captain's footsteps got louder as he stalked up behind me, as if to be sure I wouldn't make another scene. Beck got onto the lifeboat, settling next to Sikowitz and Cat. I saw the lifeboat start to drop.

"Hurry!" Robbie yelled.

I quickly moved toward the boat, stumbling a little as I took a half-leap half-step. Tori reached out to help me. Whatever, Vega. That's when I felt a shove on my left shoulder. I slipped on the slick wooden boat and felt myself falling toward the black water. Tori shrieked as she was pulled down with me.

"No!" Beck shouted, peering over the edge of the raft.

I opened my mouth to scream something, but choked at the salty splash as I landed in the ocean. A hard splashing slap, head first. And almost instantly silent darkness slammed over me.

_A/N:_

_Hmmm, a little shorter chapter. Still long, compared to my usual chapter lengths. Anyway, please review!_


	3. 3 Welcome to the Island

_A/N: _

_New episode Saturday! XD I freaked out. :'D So happy. Wow, already eleven reviews. Thanks… just, thanks! You people are awesome. So I reward you with yet another chapter! Daily updates this week, and long weekend so, more updates! _

(Tori's POV)

Smack! My whole body hurt as I fell into the water. A terrible sting. I flailed around in the black water, eyes closed and lungs burning, until I managed to reach the surface. My hair stuck to my face and my now drenched clothes weighed me down, threatening to pull me once again under the angry water. Thunder crashed high above, and I could see the blurred shape of the ship ahead of me. It glowed orange from the fire. Some people were still boarding lifeboats.

Lifeboats!

I looked around desperately, treading water until I spotted the small lifeboat. Five shapes sat in it, calling out my name and waving. My friends! The unpredictable waves pushed their boat away from me.

I tried to call out, but my voice wouldn't work. I tried to swim but it seemed like I couldn't move. The waves tossed me around, getting into my mouth and making it hard to see. I felt myself getting more exhausted my the second, and eventually closed my eyes and let the waves have me.

* * *

I stretched open my eyes to find myself lying, in sand, waves lapping at my feet. Above me, dark clouds drifted toward the horizon as the sun rose across the sky, chasing the darkness away. A breeze floated by, accompanied by the sound of soft waves.

I don't believe it. This had to be a dream. I was dead… right? How could I have survived? My first sign it wasn't a dream was the pain in my shoulder. I could just barely move it, which made the pain hundreds of times worse. I'm pretty sure a person can't exactly feel pain in a dream. But I wanted this to be a dream. I wanted to be dead. To just be done for instead of stranded, suffering on some island who knows where?

I forced myself to sit up, letting out a groan. Everything ached and I felt sick. I looked around. Palm trees, clean beach, crystal blue ocean, sea gulls flying. Paradise, almost. If you weren't in pain, confused, thirsty, hungry and –oh yeah- in the middle of nowhere.

But something else caught my eye. A dark shape, lying just down the beach. I instantly had a good idea as to what it was. Because I felt to weak to walk, I half-crawled half-stumbled over to the thing. Wet, torn dark clothing, soaked black hair, pale body dotted with sand, lying motionless. My heart stopped for a moment at the sight of her. Jade. Was she dead? No, if I strained my eyes I could watch her sides rise and fall like she was breathing. But the breathes were uneven.

"Jade?" I choked out. My throat burned from salt water, screaming, and smoke. But I spoke her name again. She didn't respond.

What did people in those ocean-survival-story shows do? Something like pump the other one's chest to get the water out of them? I walked over to her other side to turn her over better, but ended up tripping over her. Instantly she rolled over, coughing and spluttering out water, taking gasping breaths. I smiled to myself: close enough.

After getting her breath back, she lifted her head and looked around with a blank confused look on her face. I could tell she had the same thoughts as me. Then her gaze traveled to me. I smiled awkwardly, waving a little. Jade's hands flew to her face and she groaned, flopping back into the sand.

I frowned. "Good to see you're alive, too."

Jade sighed and lay that way for another minute. Then she sat up and took her hands away from her face, staring at them with a disgusted look. I was about to ask why, but she turned her hands toward me. They were smeared with watery red blood. I could see a smudge of it on her forehead, too. It was mostly hidden by her hair.

"Remind me to never go on a vacation with you again," Jade said.

"Why?"

"Because something always has to go wrong!"

I rolled my eyes. "Give me one example."

Jade raised an eyebrow, flashing an accusing look. "Yerba? You just had to fling your stupid shoe into the Chancellor's eye! If you hadn't done that, we wouldn't have all been in jail eating prison gravy!"

"In the first place, you _asked_ to come, okay?" I shot back.

"Well Beck's family wouldn't let me come to Cancun!" She jabbed a foot angrily into the sand, muttering something.

"Okay, Yerba kind of was my fault, but _you're_ the reason we're on this island."

"How?"

"If you'd just obeyed the captain, we would be on that lifeboat right now, with our friends, on our way to safety!"

Jade snorted. "_Captain_. Captain Crunch does a better job than that guy. Someone had to stand up to him!" She paused. "I still have a few words for him. He's probably happy we're stranded out here."

I sighed. Why did Jade love arguing? The girl is constantly shouting at somebody, making everything a big fight. I shook my head and stood up, walking toward the trees.

"Where are you going, Vega?"

I shrugged, then regretting it as the pain in my shoulder flared up again. "To get some stuff to make a shelter, and fresh water, and food." I explained it slowly, like defining politics to a four year old.

Jade stood up and stumbled after me. "What, why? You don't expect to actually _survive_ and be_ rescued_?"

"Oh, well, ain't that the spirit?" I continued walking.

Jade didn't say another word. I led us into the palm trees, searching for a good sheltered spot. The grass was plush and green, leaves blocked the sky. Not too far in I found a large tree that had fallen onto a boulder. The tree was hollow, arching down until it touched the ground. I dug out some dirt with my hands and squeezed through the gap.

"Seriously?" Jade asked, crossing her arms. "That can barely fit you."

Okay, no. I crawled out of the tree to join Jade. She was eying a group of three trees. Their branches overlapped, somewhat low to the ground. They seemed like strong, wide branches. Jade sat on the branches, holding onto one of the trunks.

"See?" she prompted. She bounced a little, shaking the branches. "Weem-ba-way a weem-ba-way," she murmured, cracking a grin.

I laughed, she actually had a fun sense of humor… once in a blue moon. It never lasts very long, so I bounced with her. It was actually fun.

"This could be a good bed," I suggested. "Lay a few big leaves across it, some vines, boom. A branch hammock… thing."

Jade stopped shaking the branches, turning more serious. "This isn't a Hollywood movie, Vega." She ran her fingers along the trees. "I'm actually really surprised I found this."

I nodded. "Probably the best luck we'll get out here." Getting off the branches, I added, "Come on, let's go see if we can find some other stuff."

Jade followed me through the palm forest. I led us back to the beach, don't exactly know why. We scanned up and down the shore for anything. Driftwood, supplies, clams, anything that looked useful. Nothing.

"You'd think the storm would have brought something useful. Driftwood or supplies lost from the ship, right?" I said, mostly to myself. Jade was kicking sand around as she walked down the shoreline.

"Ow!" she screamed.

_A/N: _

_Meh, somewhat of a cliffy. Sorry. Had to cut this chapter short because my dad keeps telling me to go to sleep. So, yeah, Nighty Night! Leave a review for when I wake up! ;)_


	4. 4 Hoping

_A/N:_

_Howdy all! (I love saying that.) I know it's been a day or two since the last update. But, you know, Thanksgiving and stuff. Hope you people had a good feast. I feel so fat now, haha. Wow it snowed last night, which makes me so happy! Last year all we got was a heavy frost, no snow at all. This year it came really late, not even a full inch of it, either. Minnesota's weather needs to get it back under control, sheesh. _

_Annnnywaaay… Here's the next chapter! _

(Yay, Beck's POV!)

I couldn't keep my mind off them. Especially Jade. That moment when they fell into the water kept replaying over and over in my mind, it haunted me. Tori's scream, the huge splash, it rang in my ears. The smirk of the captain after the girls crashed into the water… it was also imprinted in my brain. How I'd wished to slap it right off his face and yell "You killed them!"

They could be dead. I'd been pushing that thought away every time it came up. But it always lingered in the back of my mind. There were lots of reasons. Drowning, sharks, injury, dehydration, starving, and more. I hated to think about it; I wanted them to be alive.

Now I sat, in a small chair on a small rescue boat, with a blanket around me, feeling the rocking of the waves. Somehow, the main dock had gotten word that our ship had caught on fire, and they'd sent out rescue boats. That's what we all called them, anyway. They're these smallish boats, much bigger than lifeboats, much smaller than a cruise ship. Each probably could hold twenty-five to thirty-five passengers. They were simple. A small deck, a tiny captain's room under a main roof. A bathroom. Then just empty space under a roof. The small crew walked around with blankets, pillows, food, drinks, and first aid stuff.

I sat near the edge of the boat, resting my elbows on the railing and watching the dark water. The sky was getting ever so slowly more pale. The sun would be up soon, but the wind and rain still continued.

"We're all thinking about them," Andre said. He was sitting at my left, his eyes flickering from the water to me. "The crew is making plans to find them, you know. They could be alive."

I was grateful toward Andre. He was always, no matter what, staying calm and trying to reason, with his sights on the silver lining.

"I know," I responded. "I just want them here now." I slumped down a little. "They _could_ be alive. But what if they aren't?" It hurt so much to face that fact, but I couldn't let it go.

"Then…" Andre paused, shaking his head. "Don't think that way, man. Let's think about the possibility that they're alive. It reminds me of one of those survival stories where some guy's cruise ship sinks or something, he washes up on an island, and finds ways to survive. The girls could be doing that as we speak. Getting food and water, finding shelter, trying to get rescued…"

"Arguing." We both chuckled at my suggestion. Tori and Jade stranded alone together. That argument would go until they wouldn't be able to talk.

I suddenly missed Jade's arguing skills. I missed when we would scream at each other in the janitor's closet. When she'd storm off and refuse to talk to me. Then I got so sick of it and let her go.

"We'll find them, okay?" Andre promised. He turned his head. "Here comes Sikowitz."

I tore my gaze from the water, watching as the man approached us.

"I just spoke with the captain of this boat," he stated, trying to sound positive. He obviously missed the girls as well, and blamed himself, being our guardian for this trip. "He said the waves must have carried them. We looked at some maps, talked about the currents, and he said they're most likely washed up on an island west of where the ship caught fire."

Andre and I looked at each other, smiling. I felt my heart flutter at the sudden hint of hope. Jade was with Tori, on an island, toward the west.

"How far?" Andre asked. "What island? When will…"

"Hold. Your. Horses!" Sikowitz interrupted. "No questions. I've told you all I know." He sat down in a chair on the other side of me, letting out a troubled, thoughtful breath. "That's our best chance."

I nodded, staring at the waves again, remembering how much Jade hates the ocean. And I thought of how far the waves went, until that island where Tori and Jade were. Stranded, probably hurt, even sick. We'd search for them, I'd search for her, no matter how long it took. And find them. Dead or alive. I needed to find Jade.

_A/N: _

_Whoa there! Such a short chapter. Wow, sorry about that. Not much to say in this one I guess. But SO important. Next chapter will be focusing on the girls again, and for sure much longer. _


	5. 5 'Slight' Misery

_A/N: _

_Hi everyone! Thanks for the reviews! I know it's been a couple days since the last chapter, sorry. But who else cried after watching the last iCarly episode? I was in my room all wrapped up in my blanket sniffling like a baby. Whatever. The new Victorious brought my spirits up, and a new one next Saturday! Yes! _

_Enough of me rambling on, let's see what Jade was freaking out about. _

(Jade's POV again, yay!)

"Jade! Jade! What's wrong?" I heard Tori yell. She was running toward me now.

I hopped up and down in the sand on one foot, acting like an idiot. My left foot stung really bad. I don't really know what happened. I had just been walking around, frustrated, kicking up sand when this snake thing popped out of the sand and took a chunk out of my foot. Well, no. It just left a couple fang marks.

"What happened?" Tori asked again, catching up to me.

"I don't know! This weird snake thing popped out of the sand and dug its teeth into my foot!" I answered, stomping around where the snake had popped out of. "Hey! Was my foot tasty? You want more?" I shouted at the ground, digging around with my foot.

"Stop that!" Tori said. "Do you want it to bite your other foot? What if it was poisonous?"

I stopped and just stared at the sand. What if the snake was venomous? If it was, how badly? Would I die or just get sick? Great, now I was a little scared.

"Stupid snake," I grumbled.

Tori sighed. "Let's go back to the tree thing."

With a last glare at the sandy spot, I limped after her. God, my foot burned. I used to think snakes were kind of awesome, actually. With each painful step I doubted that thought even more. Tori got us back to the place right as the sun was starting to fall.

When we got back, we just sat there, really. We hadn't managed to find any food or good water. We just sat on the branch hammock thing, wondering what our friends were doing. Were they looking for us? Did they think we were dead? At least Beck wouldn't give up on us, especially me. If we were a couple or not.

I noticed Tori was on the ground with a stick, some dry leaves, and a piece of a log.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Trying to make a fire," she answered, rubbing down the stick. It looked like something that Bear Grills guy would do to quickly make a little fire.

"Come on. You can't expect it to work! You aren't even…"

"Ha!" Tori exclaimed, throwing her arms up. "Behold, the fire!"

"Vega, it's just a little twirl of smoke. Seriously. How is that going to cook food or signal a plane, even keep us warm?"

Tori frowned, looking at the smoking pile of leaves. "Well, you just need to…"

She was interrupted by a small clap of thunder. I looked up. The stars were coming out, but being covered by heavy clouds. I smiled; those were clouds full of rain. I watched as the first raindrop fell, followed by several others. Tori's pathetic "fire" sizzled as more rain came.

"Of course," Tori said in dismay.

She sighed and sat next to me again. My gaze went from Tori's disappointed face to the dead fire and back to Tori. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. She looked at me, raising her eyebrows.

"So this is funny?" she asked.

I nodded, biting my lip so I wouldn't laugh. Tori allowed herself a smile, realizing how petty the fire was. I lay back on the branches. They were uncomfortable, but I was tired. Tori lay back as well, opening her mouth to catch the rain. We calmed down a little.

The pain in my foot returned as I lay there. The branches poked my and were uneven, and the cold rain and wind made me feel numb. My stomach growled and felt hollow. But somehow, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

After a few hours I woke up. The sky was still very dark but the rain had stopped. Tori was shivering in her sleep beside me. My stomach felt even worse and my foot was searing. I was even colder than before and my head hurt. I groaned and rolled over, then found myself lying face-down on the ground. I crawled over to a hollow tree in front of me, sticking my head in it and began vomiting.

"Jade?" Tori whispered. "Oh my god, Jade."

She stumbled over to me, tripping over roots and vines in the dark. She held my hair out of my way, rubbing my back. It was the tiniest bit better, but I didn't thank her out loud. After a few minutes, I pulled my head out and slumped against the tree with my knees to my chest and arms across them, supporting my chin. Tori sat next to me with her legs folded.

I closed my eyes. _Beck, find us soon._


End file.
